A633.6.5.RB - Circle of Leadership

Considering all of readings in this module and the learning exercises regarding upward and downward leadership; reflect on the diagram (figure 9.5; p.152) "the vicious circle for leaders". 

Does this happen in your organization?  Regrettably, the Circle of Leadership as illustrated in the Obolensky text has occurred in the organizations I have been exposed to especially where I work now.  I am not so sure if the reason for this action really falls on the employees.  I would put more emphasis on the failure of management.  It is an environment where there is a lack of confidence in leadership which often transcends to the employees.  Often supervisors are not hired for their experience or their skill level; often it based on who you know.  The long term is exactly what was discussed earlier in the course “leadership charade”; except this time the charade is heavily based on reality.  Supervisors want to be more knowledgeable and will often change things just so the employee is at a disadvantage; this often has drastic consequences.  

What are the effects on the organization? Without a doubt, the effects on my organization are negative.  Now to be fair, many times good leaders may get caught up in a system that they cannot change.  Their intentions may be good initially, but when your boss has initiated a system that does not work, you find yourself trying to manage a system in which the daily basis employees have lost confidence.  This causes employees to feel less empowerment and motivation, which hinders creativeness and ingenuity.  As stated earlier, “Supervisors don’t want employees to know more than them and will often change things just so the employee is at a disadvantage; this often has drastic consequences.”  In such an environment, employees are often forced to remain in stages 1 thru 3; in order to satisfy the insecurities of the individuals in charge. The organization has recently suffered a huge issue of a decrease in employee moral; which has led to occurrences as severe as some of the most experienced employees in the world quitting.

Create a new circle that would promote strong followership and even leadership at the lower levels of the organization.  An annual meeting is held between the supervisors and the employee or an ideal is born this is how I would envision how the cycle for a leader and a follower would look like:

- Initial annual meeting between supervisor and employee

·         Supervisor explains their and organizational expectations. 

·         Supervisors allows employees to ask questions about past performance and ways they can improve

·         Supervisors provide employees with resources to find answers before he/she has to come to them

- Employee now understands their duties and responsibilities

·         They now takes initiative to meet or exceed expectations

- Midterm – Leaders observe performance and provide employees the opportunity to mature

·         Supervisor explains how the employee has met expectations from the initial meeting

- Supervisors start to adopt a more hands-off approach

·         Employees are given more freedom to make daily decisions

- Supervisors provide employees feedback on past performance (positive and negative)

·         Supervisors provide information on how to make improvements

·         Employee confidence increases ( Meeting for cycle to start over is established)

Hopefully this process will accomplish several things:

·         Help enhance employee confidence

·         Help employee increase in skill and ability levels

·         Helps employees better understand the organization

·         Build a positive bond between management and employees